The problems associated with groups that commit crime are well known and notoriously complex. However, there are many questions that we still cannot answer with certainty. This book seeks to deepen understanding of the group processes involved in crime and the treatment of offenders' thoughts and behaviour. Together, the chapters in this volume address the following questions: Are people more likely to commit crime because of the influence of their group? Does group membership cause people to become criminals, or does the group merely foster people's pre-existing criminal inclinations? How does group membership exert such a strong hold on people so that some risk imprisonment or even death, rather than relinquish their membership? The contributors to Crime and Crime Reduction consider the social psychological influences of groups and specific forms of group crime such as street and prison gangs, terrorism, organized criminal networks, and group sexual offending. The book also addresses important questions about the role of groups in treating offenders, and why existing group membership should be considered when treating offenders. Group criminal activity is a key area of study for researchers and for students of Forensic Psychology and Criminology courses. This book will therefore be of interest to students, scholars, and law enforcement practitioners who want to understand the group processes involved in crime and its reduction.

Public opinion is vital to the functioning of the criminal justice system but it is not at all clear how best to establish what this is, and what views people have on different aspects of criminal justice and the criminal justice system. Politicians and the media often assume that the public wants harsher, tougher and longer sentences, and policies may be shaped accordingly. Detailed research and more specific polling often tells a different story.

This book is concerned to shed further light on the nature of public views on criminal justice, paying particular attention to public opinion towards specific types of offenders, such as sex offenders and mentally disordered offenders. In doing so it challenges many enduring assumptions regarding people's views on justice, and confronts the myths that infect our understanding of what people think about the criminal justice system.

Public opinion is vital to the functioning of the criminal justice system but it is not at all clear how best to establish what this is, and what views people have on different aspects of criminal justice and the criminal justice system. Politicians and the media often assume that the public wants harsher, tougher and longer sentences, and policies may be shaped accordingly. Detailed research and more specific polling often tells a different story.

This book is concerned to shed further light on the nature of public views on criminal justice, paying particular attention to public opinion towards specific types of offenders, such as sex offenders and mentally disordered offenders. In doing so it challenges many enduring assumptions regarding people's views on justice, and confronts the myths that infect our understanding of what people think about the criminal justice system.

The problems associated with groups that commit crime are well known and notoriously complex. However, there are many questions that we still cannot answer with certainty. This book seeks to deepen understanding of the group processes involved in crime and the treatment of offenders' thoughts and behaviour. Together, the chapters in this volume address the following questions: Are people more likely to commit crime because of the influence of their group? Does group membership cause people to become criminals, or does the group merely foster people's pre-existing criminal inclinations? How does group membership exert such a strong hold on people so that some risk imprisonment or even death, rather than relinquish their membership? The contributors to Crime and Crime Reduction consider the social psychological influences of groups and specific forms of group crime such as street and prison gangs, terrorism, organized criminal networks, and group sexual offending. The book also addresses important questions about the role of groups in treating offenders, and why existing group membership should be considered when treating offenders. Group criminal activity is a key area of study for researchers and for students of Forensic Psychology and Criminology courses. This book will therefore be of interest to students, scholars, and law enforcement practitioners who want to understand the group processes involved in crime and its reduction.